Skittlez owner says gay club being singled out by police, commissioners

Augusta’s only black gay nightclub is facing closure for admitting an underage patron, but the club’s owner says his club is being unfairly singled out – while his attorney says the city’s nightclub law might not be legal.

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Timothy Lowery said he opened Skittlez Bar and Grill last year to capture an untapped market in Augusta, with much success.

“Nobody was doing the black gay thing, so that’s why I did it. There was nowhere for that group to go,” Lowery said in a Tuesday telephone interview.

Lowery was recommended by the sheriff’s office planning department and the Augusta Commission in February 2012 for an on-premises liquor, beer and wine license for Skittlez. He paid the $4,779 fee and opened the doors in July, later employing his daughter as a bartender.

An Augusta Chronicle report from May found that Skittlez had had no incidents of crime when other clubs had dozens or even hundreds. However, Lowery was penalized for an April incident involving an unpermitted adult dancer who removed his clothing in the presence of a minor.

The Augusta Commission voted to suspend Lowery’s license in June for three months and place it on probation for a year, and when he reopened, things proceeded trouble-free until a recent Friday. Lowery said he didn’t hire security because he wasn’t expecting a crowd.

That evening, Lowery claims he invited inside from the parking lot a minor who was serving as designated driver for several of-age patrons. The minor recently had a seizure in the club parking lot, Lowery said, and he didn’t want that to happen again with no one around to help.

The unnamed minor’s presence was the only violation cited by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at a Monday meeting of the city’s public services committee, although Investigator Tony Hyatt said other minors in the parking lot were complaining about being ejected when police arrived.

RCSO and Planning recommended revoking Skittlez’ license, but Lowery said that’s not fair.

“It’s blatantly obvious what’s going on when you have clubs with hundreds of incidents” that are allowed to remain open, while he faces revocation for one, Lowery said.

A month ago, former Magic City owner Tyrone Davis was allowed by the commission to keep his new Pure Platinum Sports Bar open a few blocks from Skittlez on Gordon Highway, despite incidents that included a March beating death in the club’s parking area and about 14 instances of unlawful alcohol consumption.

Lowery said he’s being singled out not so much for his clientele but because he complained to federal investigators last year about being targeted and because the city isn’t fair in its application of the rules.

“No company is going to want to set up in Richmond County if they think it’s going to be corruption,” he said.

Lowery, who said he learned late that Skittlez was being considered for revocation Monday, arrived with attorney Jack Batson, who dismissed most of the allegations against his client as parking lot hearsay to which investigators “bootstrapped” the single offense - the underage patron who hadn’t been served alcohol inside the club.

The city’s lounge ordinance, moreover, is too vague in its prohibition against allowing minors in bars, something not outlawed by the state, Batson said.

Augusta General Counsel Andrew MacKenzie said Tuesday that cities are allowed to impose greater restrictions than the state in certain areas. “I think our code is constitutional,” he said.

Augusta commissioners were divided on support for Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle’s motion to revoke Skittlez’ license Monday. The club had support in Commissioner Bill Lockett, who called most of the evidence against Lowery circumstantial. The revocation goes before the full commission next week.

Lowery said customers are already asking where they will go if Skittlez is shut down, but expected existing nightclubs would welcome the new business, now that he’s established a customer base.

“They can be themselves in this place without fearing somebody’s gay-bashing them,” he said. “The message I got yesterday is what we going to do now?”

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Not quite sure why a bar, a business that sells alcohol and possibly food, can be dinged for having a minor present who doesn't consume alcohol, but a restaurant like Applebee's, that serves food and copious amounts of alcohol can be full of kids who don't consume alcohol and it's business as usual.

Straight clubs pay that much too. I was a bartender for 23 years in straight clubs I might add lol and the liquor license costs $2000.00, beer license is $1500.00, wine license is $700.00, $110.00 app fee then there is the consumption license. I'm not sure how much that costs and all the prices I quoted are approximate because I retired from the business in "04" after 23 years of service. The licenses are good for 2 years. I hope that clears up the reason why they had to pay $4,779.00 in fees. Y'all have a blessed day!

I've always thought they were much to lenient on clubs with multiple offenses and no revocation. It should be, you get put on probation and if you receive another offense during that time, your license is revoked. Period.

Main thing that disturbs me about this is that they have a minor being a designated driver who recently had a seizure in the parking lot (his reasoning for having the minior inside the establishment). What's the liability to the owner if this designated driver has another seizure while transporting an over-intoxicated driver home and injures someone?

Augusta has a large gay community-you probably work with someone who is gay (I've never known a lazy or unproductive gay person). But they have to obey the laws as they stand like anyone else (no matter how illogical). Being "gay" or "black" minorities has nothing to do with it-it's a minor in a bar. Minors in bars has been banned for as long as I can remember. Why would they close them with just one offense is an appropriate question-do they close Jiffy stores when they sale cigarettes to minors?
As far as gay bashing or racist comments-I don't approve but it is a free country so I have to support their freedom as would a group of christians at a church meeting or communist at a Communist Party USA rally. People have different "beliefs" and I don't make judgements related to that because where would it end.

A lot of good comments here. No infraction should be without punishment, but it does disturb me that other clubs in that area that have had similar and far worse infractions/crimes are allowed to stay open. Each nightclub should be treated the same.

It was the unpermitted dancer that took off their clothes, RC is very, very strict about that. And no nightclub owner is allowed to invite an underage person into a club, the reason he gave is absolute nonsense. If he was afraid the person was going to have a seizure, he should've told him to go home.

The fact that an unpermitted dancer would be a major issue demonstrates how absolutely messed up some "moral" prerogatives can be.

Basically, the Commission is saying its okay if human beings are repeatedly assaulted, knifed, or shot at your nightclub -- but as soon as one is unclothed, you'll get shut down. That is simply sickening.